Dominic Conroy & Fiona Measham 
Young Adult Drinking Styles 
Current Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice

This book brings together cutting-edge contemporary research and discussion concerning drinking practices among young adults (individuals aged approximately 18-30 years old). Its chapters showcase an interdisciplinary range of perspectives from psychology, sociology, criminology, geography, public health and social policy. The contributors address themes including how identity becomes involved in young adult drinking practices; issues relating to the non-consumption of alcohol within friendship groups; and the role of social context, religious and ethnic orientation, gender identity, and social media use. In doing so, they highlight changing trends in alcohol consumption among young people, which have seen notably fewer young adults consuming alcohol over the last two decades.






In acknowledging the complex nature of drinking styles among young adults, the contributors to this collection eschew traditional understandings of young adult drinking which can pathologise and generalise. They advocate instead for an inclusive approach, as demonstrated in the wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, cultural perspectives, methods and international settings represented in this book, in order to better understand the economic, socio-cultural and pharmacological crossroads at which we now stand. This book will appeal in particular to researchers, theorists, practitioners and policy makers working in the alcohol and drugs field, public health and health psychology, in addition to students and researchers from across the social sciences. 

Tabella dei contenuti

Chapter 1: Book introduction: Young adult drinking styles; Dominic Conroy and Fiona Measham.- Part 1: Trends in young adult alcohol use.- Chapter 2: Have recent declines in adolescent drinking continued into young adulthood?; Michael Livingston and Rakhi Vashishtha.- Chapter 3: Alcohol, Young Adults and the New Millennium: Changing Meanings in a Changing Social Climate; Gabriel Caluzzi and Amy Pennay.- Chapter 4: Understanding life transitions and drinking trajectories in adulthood; Marjana Martinic and Arlene Bigirimana.- Part 2: Contextualising young adult drinking.- Chapter 5: Into The Woods: Contextualising atypical intoxication by young adults in music festivals and nightlife tourist resorts; Tim Turner and Fiona Measham.- Chapter 6: Drinking norms and alcohol identities in the context of social media interactions among university students: An overview of relevant literature; Brad Ridout.- Chapter 7: Social Media and Young Adults’ Drinking Cultures: Orienting Research Towards Multiplicity and Mobility; Ian Goodwin and Antonia Lyons.- Chapter 8: Friendship and Alcohol Use Among Young Adults: A Cross-Disciplinary Literature Review; Dominic Conroy and Sarah Mac Lean.- Chapter 9: Gender in young adults’ discourses of drinking and drunkenness; Alexandra Bogren.- Chapter 10: Alcohol consumption among young people in marginalised groups; Lana Ireland.- Part 3: Recognizing the breadth of young adult drinking styles.- Chapter 11: Non-drinkers and Non-drinking: A Review, A Critique and Pathways to Policy; Emma Banister, Dominic Conroy and Maria Piacentini.- Chapter 12: Can’t dance without being drunk? Exploring the enjoyment and acceptability of conscious-clubbing in young people; Emma Davies, Kyle Brown, Kimberley Hill, Mattias Johansson and Joanne Smith.- Chapter 13: Young people and temporary alcohol abstinence during Dry January; Richard de Visser.- Part 4: Alcohol policy relating to young adult drinking practices.- Chapter 14: University Alcohol Policy: Findings from Mixed Methods Research and Implications for Students’ Drinking Practices; Rose Leontini, Toni Schofield, John Germov and Julie Hepworth.- Chapter 15: Lockout laws or culture change? A gendered analysis of policies addressing ‘alcohol related violence’ among young people; Aaron Hart and Claire Wilkinson.- Chapter 16: Making sense of alcohol consumption among Russian young adults in the context of post-2009 policy initiatives; Vadim Radaev.- Chapter 17: Evaluating the recent ‘integrated approach’ to alcohol policy designed to promote moderate alcohol consumption among Dutch young people; Rob Bovens and Dike van de Mheen.- Chapter 18: Conclusion and reflections on future directions; Dominic Conroy and Fiona Measham.

Circa l’autore

Dominic Conroy is Lecturer in psychology at the University of East London, UK. Dominic is interested in exploring young adult drinking practices that illuminate issues of intimacy and social bonding underpinning alcohol use and developing understanding of flexible drinking styles and agency involved in young adults’ alcohol use. Dominic’s mixed methods research also involves developing effective behavioural interventions designed to reduce excessive alcohol consumption among young adults.





Fiona Measham is Chair in Criminology at the University of Liverpool, UK. Fiona has conducted research for nearly three decades across a broad area of criminology and social policy, exploring changing trends in legal and illegal drugs, night time and festival economies and the socio-cultural context to consumption. Fiona has served on numerous scientific advisory committees and expert panels and is co-founder and co-director of The Loop UK and The Loop AU. 






This book was nominated as the category winner in Psychiatry at the British Medical Association Book Awards 2021.